Bradford & District | Archive | 2002 | June | 14
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Friday 14th Jun 2002.
Award-winning rail groups in Keighley are to play a starring role once again in a major television drama.
Vintage carriages from the Museum of Rail Travel at Ingrow have been used for a two part ITV adaptation of D H Lawrence's classic novel Sons and Lovers.
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway's station at Oakworth also doubled as a pub and railway station in Nottinghamshire for the two days of filming.
The other stars of the production include former Coronation Street actress Sarah Lancashire as Gertrude Morel, Rupert Evans as Paul and Full Monty actor Hugo Speer as Walter.
Company Productions, which is making the programme, chose three of the museum's star exhibits for the filming.
The carriages used were Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway four-wheeled tri-composite carriage no 176, built in 1876, the Great Northern Railway six-wheeled brake third class carriage, built in 1888, and a 1923 Metropolitan Railway first class carriage no 509.
Paul Holroyd, one of the museum's trustees, said: "Over the years we have established ourselves with film and television.
"We have been privileged to provide carriages for productions featuring Michael Caine, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tara Fitzgerald, John Nettles and David Suchet.
"They have been used all over England as well as on our doorstep on the adjacent Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, which offers a perfect location for filming.
"Filming also brings a lot of income to the local area, especially for local hoteliers."
Four scenes were filmed inside Oakworth station's ladies room, which doubled as the Moon and Stars pub, with the platform becoming Lethley Bridge for the production. The station's booking hall also doubled as Nottingham station's bar, complete with hand pumps, beer barrels and bottles for the final scene.
The rail travel museum is increasingly in demand for cinema and television productions, with more than 50 production credits on its CV.
The Vintage Carriages Trust website receives an average of 600 hits a day and is popular with TV and film researchers as it includes a database of more than 3,800 preserved carriages.
The Museum of Rail Travel is open every day between 11am and 4.30pm. For more information telephone 01535 680425 or log on to the web site at www.vintagecarriagetrust.org.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008